AN ACT OF TERROIR-ISM
Terroir, just seven letters, is a concept we all get, kind of. We have a view of it, a feeling about it, but try and put those thoughts down comprehensively on paper (as I thought I would easily be able to) and you’ll soon find yourself reaching for a second sheet.
So, about halfway through A4 page two, I thought I’d stop trying to. I noticed that the team at Sake On Air spent a fascinating 62 minutes just scraping the surface of terroir back in June last year (great show guys as always, by the way, link below) only to conclude with the knowledge that more broadcasts were needed.
So, what is this post about? Well, I’ll quickly take a look at what terroir is (or was) and then quickly don my marketing hat and move on to what terroir can do. It feels like it’s time to reassess how we look at, and what constitutes, modern day terroir.
Terroir has primarily and historically been used as an oenological term for the wine world. So does it have a place in Japan and its Sake? If we flip it around, I don’t ever recall hearing a wine’s finish being described as Kirei, for example.
The Sake On Air team agree that terroir is an ‘alliance between man and the environment’, and go on I recall to distil this down to “A taste of a place”, but what factors are at play here?
Well there’s the obvious ones like location, altitude, soil, water, climate. But where does it stop? Can human interventions have an effect on terroir? Well, indirectly I think they can. By way of example, a winery owner once told me that some of the best vineyards around the world are located in close proximity to human graveyards. All rather Stephen King, but I can see the logic.
Money can’t buy true terroir like this – Marc Sorrel’s phenomenal wines in the Rhône valley are left to ferment for up to 12 months in a decrepit old cellar which Mother Nature has taken over
So, is terroir a little anachronistic? In the past when technology was nowhere near as advanced and ubiquitous as it is now, would the world’s breadth of wines be more limited? There would be fewer reliable ways to vinify, right? And so might the same apply to Sake? Not until the latter half of the 20th century was the concept of Ginjo grade milled rice available, thereby restricting the possible spectrum of flavors. Basically, natural terroir alone dictated what was possible.
But even that theory has holes in it. On a (rather boozy) Marlborough winery tour with Brett Bermingham at Nautilus a couple of years back, I got to try wine from two barrels. The grapes were from the same parcel, picked and put into the same grade of barrel on the same day and matured for the same amount of time. They tasted vastly different. So much for that theory then.
Geographical Indication (GI) creates a form of terroir, identifying a place wherein innate natural phenomena contribute to a readily identifiable, arguably superior, product.
Harima’s Sakes earned a GI designation in March 2020 alongside Yamagata, Hakusan and Nadagogo. The National Tax Agency in Japan states that “GIs can be taken as a national guarantee” allowing consumers to “choose the more reliable products by the local brand establishment”.
Sceptics would suggest this is politics and protectionism at work but this all sounds very sensible, having a recognised quality standard to protect both producers and consumers. However reading the requirements for Harima, it starts to lose some of the romance with such a prescriptive list:
In such an expressive and subjective industry as Sake, is there a need for such tight parameters, and can this potentially limit the creativity of Japan’s new generation of Sake pioneers and the new technologies available to hand?
Remember that unlike wine, rice used in Sake brewing can be sourced across Japan and it thrives better in some regions than others, it certainly doesn’t need to be grown on or close to the property. So can you comfortably accept the intention that Sakes from the places designated within Harima’s GI all should share a recognizable profile, quality, character and feel? And, can these products categorically be ‘better’ than elsewhere in Japan where the same rice, Koji and yeasts can be purchased and used in the brewing process?
But back to terroir itself. If GI is the quality protector, it seems to me that in Sake, more than in wine, terroir is being used as a marketing tool. Terroir allows for today’s conscientious eco-slurping Sake tourists to throw around the buzzwords previously reserved for other consumer categories. And the breweries need this interest from international markets, we all know how difficult times are for the industry back in Japan.
Terroir is being used strategically as a familiar entry point for overseas fans to gravitate towards Sakes displaying traceability, sustainability, locality and scarcity (plus no doubt other “-itys” too). Sakes with a story or narrative are winning the hearts and minds of the generation sick of being told what to purchase by glossy commercialism.
http://www.dewazakura.co.jp/en/
So when I’m next back in the UK and carving slices from my roast forerib of longhorn beef from the local farmshop, the Nurukan Junmai Sake that accompanies it should have a similarly respectful heritage. And this is where terroir can step in. Far nicer that I reach for a bottle of artisanal “GI” Dewazakura Junmai (made in Yamagata with native Dewa no Sato rice since 1892) than something factory-scale produced.
Now is a great opportunity for the smaller craft breweries to pull on the heartstrings of the conscientious consumer. I can’t imagine today’s Instagram generation (wow, am I slowly being sucked into this too?) appearing in all that many selfies outside a Sake ‘factory’ (sorry to those hugely successful breweries) but I can see endless gigabytes of moody pics in front of boutique Shuzo. Probably in black and white.
The Japanese have a term for what I’m hinting at here – Jizake 地酒 – but it is all a bit cloaked in mystery, with an absence of specifics as to just what criteria such Sakes need to meet. Urban Sake informs us that:
“This could be considered sake from a local small or artisanal producer”
and John Gauntner’s brilliant dictionary (a free app by the way, link below) tells us:
“A vague term meaning “local sake,” and referring to sake from smaller producers, i.e. not large producers.”
It’s as if Jizake fits the mould of what many folk are looking for in choosing Sake. It mops up all the feel good requirements, it’s almost like ‘underdog’ Sake and it certainly gives the small producer an edge. And at a time when the world is reassessing what’s important to them during the current crisis, the time is riper than ever.
To generalise then, the Sake ‘story’ has been told more as the product of technology than a product of its immediate environment and circumstances. To the international markets, labels predominantly paint a useful but factual picture of polishing rate, acidity, starter and filtration style, with pasteurization level and location, but recently the industry is turning to their terroir. It has historically lacked warmth.
So my conclusion is this (it works for me if nothing else).
There is room for terroir in Sake. But, times, technology and attitudes have moved on from the draconian Old World wine view of it (of course it has). Terroir now represents not only the essential building blocks that come together in the hands of the great to make wonderful Sake, it includes the historical context and circumstantial framework within which all that magic happens.
The secret now is how each brewery weaves all these touchpoints into a narrative to charm and entice consumers to reach for their spare Yen. And who doesn’t love a good story.
FOOTNOTE:
Wow, this has become quite a task writing this particular post and I’ve revised it many times, possibly too many now. I think terroir will be something I’ll come back to over the coming months, and hopefully with more clarity!
QUICK GLOSSARY:
Kirei: When used to describe a Sake, the meaning refers to a clean finish. This style is highly regarded and is the opposite to the highly appreciated long finish associated with a fine wine
Ginjo: Sake made from rice at a polishing ratio below 60%
Nurukan: Gently warmed but not hot Sake (40 degrees centigrade, 104 degrees Fahrenheit – think body temperature)
Junmai: Sakes made with no added alcohol are Junmai, the only ingredients are rice, water and Koji mould
Shuzo: Sake brewery. Often added to the company name e.g. Morikawa Shuzo
LINKS:
Sake On Air
https://sakeonair.com/2019/06/15/ep-18-talking-terroir/
Nautilus Estate Winery
https://www.nautilusestate.com
Urban Sake
https://www.urbansake.com/
Sake World
https://sake-world.com/store/iphone-app-the-sake-dictionary/
Dewazakura Sake Brewery
http://www.dewazakura.co.jp/en/
